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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

It must be sympathy pains....

I am convinced that household appliances and goods have a secret life. It is almost like the Freemasons....they have rings and meetings, and rituals that are so secretive that the lay person doesn't know what they are. But they exist. How do I know? Because as soon as one of them breaks down....they all start to break down.

I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls over the weekend (I was sick in bed with Strep throat again). And one line from the movie (without spoilers for you have not seen it yet) was something like "their collective conscienceness is more powerful than the individual."

I can deal with one or two things needing to be replaced...but we are now starting to get into more coin than anticipated. And while we have our emergency fund, and still have $1,000 from our refi money that is sitting untouched.....plus a whole lot of overtime coming....I really wasn't planning on spending all of that just replacing stuff!! I had dreams of actually repaying debt.

I mentioned that our pool liner needs to be replaced. We researched it, and decided that this is not a DIY job for us. We have found a place that we can get the liner for $158 (and that is the thicker lining, and free shipping!!), but instillation will be about $450, plus chemicals and water. And that is if we are lucky. If there is a problem with the interior of the walls of pool once they remove the liner....that means $$$$$.

Now our oven has decided to get in on the act. A few days ago, it decided to stop warming properly. G-man looked at it and the bottom element isn't working right. We have already replaced that once, and if that is all it is....then we will be darn happy. If it turns out to be the thermostat, then we are screwed. Our elderly stove...well, they just don't make parts for it anymore. The thermostat was discontinued, and we can't find one that would work. Thus....the range would have to be replaced.

And the refrigerator....it doesn't want to be left out. The crisper drawers have decided to go wanky, and freeze anything that is in it. We tried adjusting the temp...but then the body of the fridge isn't cold enough.....and it is still freezing stuff in the crisper. Right now we are just not using the crispers....but it could be signs that a new fridge will be in our future.

I shouldn't complain TOO much.....the manuals for the oven and for the fridge indicate that they were purchased in 1992....so they have lived a long life. But do they have to die together....like an old married couple? ETA: If we escape this with a relatively inexpensive fix, we have already decided to start saving for new appliances.....so don't tell me to do it!

Pool....oven.....fridge.....really????

ETA, 1:15pm - The oven is fixed! G-man found a burnt wire and was able to fix it!! YIPPEE! But now I guess I have to start saving for when it really goes ka-put.

The first thing to try for your fridge is to pull it out from the wall and vacuum the coils on the back. Sometimes they can get quite the buildup of dust and general ickiness on there that stops them from working efficiently. It doesn't quite sound like what's wrong with yours, but a free, easy fix sounds like a good thing to try first.

My dishwasher leaks and just put down a towel,our fridge is a nightmare. Stove was replaced two years ago by oldest daughter at Thanksgiving because it burned everything. Yes appliances love each other.